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I 


An  Earl>rAccount 

of  the  Establishment 

of  Jesuit  Missions  in  America 


BY 
HENRY  F.  DEPUY 


^mttitan  Jlnltquattan  ^oeietli 


An  Early  Account 

of  the  Establishment 

of  Jesuit  Missions  in  America 


BY 

HENRY  f;  DEPUY 


RaPBIMTBD  FBOM  THB   PROCBBDINOe  OW  TBS   AmSRICAN   AirnQUAJUAK   SoonTT 

FOB  April  1920 


WORCESTER,  MASSACHUSETTS,  U.S.A. 

PUBLISHED  BY  THE  SOCIETY 

1921 


The  Davis  Pbess 
Worcester,  Massachusetts 


Bare 


AN  EARLY  ACCOUNT 

OF  THE  ESTABLISHMENT 

OF  JESUIT  MISSIONS  IN  AMERICA 


BY    HENRY    F.    DEPUY 


FEW  subjects  in  American  history  have  had  more 
careful  study  from  eminent  scholars  both  historically 
and  bibliographically  than  the  Jesuit  missions  in 
North  America.  The  Jesuits  were  by  no  means  the 
first  mssionaries  to  the  new  world,  but  they  had  a 
system  of  reports  to  the  head  of  the  order  and  many  of 
these  reports  were  printed  for  public  distribution. 
These  reports  from  the  fact  that  they  contain  des- 
criptions of  the  country  and  its  inhabitants  are  among 
the  most  important  sources  of  our  early  history.  It 
is  therefore  with  good  reason  that  these  books  and 
anything  relating  to  the  Jesuit  missions  have  been 
sought  with  avidity  by  historians,  libraries  and  collec- 
tors. The  discovery  of  hitherto  unknown  books  or 
manuscripts  relating  to  these  Missions  is  today  an 
event  of  importance  both  historically  and  bibliograph- 
ically. It  is  the  purpose  of  this  paper  to  call  attention 
to  an  authoritative  source  of  information  as  to  the 
Jesuit  missions  till  now  almost  entirely  unknown  to 
American  investigators — the  Life  of  Francisco  de 
Borja,  the  third  General  of  the  Jesuits,  written  by 
Father  Ribadeneyra  and  printed  in  Madrid  in  1592. 
The  complete  title  and  collation  of  this  book  is: 

Vida  del  P.  Francisco  de  Borja,  que  fue  Duque  de  Gandia,  y 
despues  Religisos  y  III.  General  dela  Compaiiia  de  lesvs. 
Escrita  per  el  P.  Pedro  de  Ribadeneyra  de  la  misma  Compania 
Dirigida  al  Catolico  Key  Don  Felipe  II  nuestro  Senor.     [cut] 


Con  privilegio  real  En  Madrid,  En  Casa  de  P.  Madrigal. 
Ano  de  1592.  Esta  tassada  en  papel  en  cinco  Reales,  y  19 
mrs. 

Quarto;  ff  [12],  237  [3];  193  x  140  mm. 

Father  Pedro  de  Ribadeneyra,  the  author,  was  born 
in  Toledo,  November  the  first,  1527,  and  died  at 
Madrid  on  the  twenty-second  of  September,  1611. 
He  served  in  several  important  posts  in  the  Company 
of  Jesus,  and  besides  other  works  was  the  author  of 
the  Lives  of  Loyola,  Laynez,  and  Borgia  the  first 
three  Generals  of  the  Order. 

The  ^^Vida  de  Borja"  was  first  printed  in  Madrid  in 
1592,  the  foregoing  being  the  title  to  the  first  edition. 
The  other  editions  that  I  have  been  able  to  trace  are: 
Verdun,  1596,  in  French;  Douai,  1596  and  1603,  in 
French;  Florence,  1600,  in  Italian;  Ingolstadt,  1613, 
in  German;  Mentz,  1603,  in  Latin;  Rome,  1616,  in 
Italian,  cited  by  Backer;  and  Antwerp,  1598; 
Mayence,  1613;  Douai,  1603;  Lyons,  1609,  cited  by 
Nicolas  Antonio.  These  are  all  separate  editions  of 
the  Life  of  Borgia.  The  three  '^Vidas''  of  Loyola, 
Laynez  and  Borgia  appear  together  in  several  editions, 
the  earliest  being  1594.  P6rez  Pastor  in  Bihliografia 
Madrilena,  Madrid,  1891,  gives  the  interesting  infor- 
mation about  this  edition  of  1594,  that  the  Duke  of 
Gandia,  son  of  Francisco  de  Borgia,  gave  1500  reals 
to  assist  the  printing  ^Me  ce  livre.  '^  This  sums  up  the 
bibliographical  information  that  I  have  found  in 
regard  to  the  book.  As  to  the  book  itself,  I  have  not 
been  able  to  locate  a  copy  of  any  edition  in  any  public 
library  in  America.  The  British  Museum  catalogue 
has  two  editions,  Madrid  1592  (imperfect)  and  Mentz 
1603. 

The  copy  which  I  owned  and  from  which  the 
chapters  quoted  in  this  article  are  taken  is  now  in  the 
library  of  Mr.  Henry  E.  Huntington.  I  obtained  it 
through  Mr.  Robert  Dodd,  and  a  name  on  the  title 
indicates  that  in  the  early  part  of  the  19th  century  it 
was  the  property  of  Alfred  Hennen  of  New  Orleans. 


V  I  D  A 

DEL. p.  FRANCISCO 

de  Borja  ,  que  fue  Duque  ds 

Gadia,yderpiics  Rcligiofo  y.III. 

General  dcla  Compania  de 
I  E  s  V  s. 

Efcritapor  el  P.  Pedro, de  Rikidenejra 
"•    de  Li  mifma  Qcm^ariia. 

Dirigida  al  Catolico  Rey  Don  Felipe  J I.^ 
nueftroSenor. 


CON  PRIVILEGIO  REAL. 


EN   MADRID, 
En  cafa  de  P.  Madrigal.  Aiio  de  1 5  p  2 

£j}ataJfiu{o  en^afjcl  en  ciijco  %ealcf,y  19.  mrt* 


Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 

in  2007  with  funding  from 

IVIicrosoft  Corporation 


http://www.archive.org/details/earlyaccountofesOOdepurich 


It  contains  four  chapters  on  the  establishment  of 
Jesuit  missions  in  America.     They  are  as  follows: 

"The  Entrance  of  the  Company  into  the  West  Indies,  and 
the  death  of  nine  of  them  in  Florida,  Chapter  VI. 

''Our  men  go  to  Peru  and  to  New  Spain,  Chapter  VII. 

"The  Death  which  the  heretics  gave  to  thirty-nine  of  the 
company  who  were  going  to  Brazil.     Chapter  X. 

"Concerning  twelve  others  of  the  Company  who  likewise 
died  at  the  hands  of  the  heretics."     Chapter  XI. 

These  chapters  are,  as  far  as  I  know,  the  earliest 
printed  accounts  of  the  Florida  mission.  There  are 
earlier  accounts  of  the  South  American  missions;  and 
in  this  connection  it  is  worthy  of  remark  that  although 
Ribadeneyra  distinctly  says  in  Chapter  VI:  ''When 
Father  Francisco  was  first  General  of  the  Company 
none  of  the  Company  had  entered  the  West  Indies 
which  were  subject  to  the  Crown  of  Castile.  They 
had  only  sent  forth  and  scattered  our  men  through  the 
East  Indies'*  etc.  Yet  it  is  undoubtedly  a  fact  that 
there  were  Jesuit  missionaries  in  South  America  prior 
to  1550.  I  am  indebted  to  Mr.  Eames  for  the  three 
titles  as  follows : 

(1)  Avisi  Particolari  delle  Indiedi  Portugallo,  Roma,  1552, 
(This  contains  seven  letters  from  Jesuit  missionaries  in  Brazil. 
1549-1551.) 

(2)  Novi  Avisi  di  piu  lochi  de  Tlndia  et  massime  de  Brasil 
receuuti  quest'  anno  del  M.  D.  LIII,  Roma,  1553.  (Contains 
eleven  letters  from  Jesuit  missionaries  in  Brazil,  1551-1552.) 

(3)  Copia  de  unas  Cartas  de  algunos  padres  y  hermanos  dela 
compania  de  Jesus  que  escrivieron  dela  India,  Japon,  y  Brasil, 
[Lisbon,]  1555.  (Contains  four  letters  from  Jesuit  missionaries 
in  Brazil  written  in  1555.) 

All  three  are  in  the  Lenox  collection  of  the  New  York 
Public  Library,  and  all  were  printed  before  Francisco 
de  Borgia  became  General  of  the  Company  in  1565. 

It  is  remarkable  that  in  studying  the  history  of  the 
Jesuit  missions  scholars  should  have  failed  to  consult 
the  life  of  the  General  of  the  Order  under  whom  they 
were  established.     It  seems  hardly  credible  that  a 


book  of  that  character,  which  went  through  at  least 
ten  editions  in  twenty-four  years,  should  be  extremely 
rare.  Yet  no  reference  is  made  to  it  by  Shea  or 
O'Callaghan,  who  were  both  intensely  interested  in 
the  subject,  and  who  were  both  members  of  the  Order. 
Buckingham  Smith  is  supposed  to  have  ransacked 
Madrid  for  early  books  and  documents  relating  to 
Florida  and  evidently  did  not  discover  it.  The  facts 
given  in  the  chapter  on  Florida  are  simply  confirma- 
tory, though  in  more  detail,  of  the  account  given  by 
Shea  in  his  chapter  on  Ancient  Florida  in  Winsor's 
Narrative  and  Critical  History ^  Volume  2.  Shea  cites 
as  his  authority  a  letter  of  Menendez  dated  in  October 
1566,  and  printed  in  Madrid,  1710  [Winsor  II,  279.] 
In  fact,  I  have  been  able  to  learn  of  but  one  American 
reference  to  this  book.  This  morning,  our  associate 
Mr.  George  Parker  Winship,  has  called  my  attention 
to  the  fact  that  it  was  cited  in  1905  in  a  footnote  on 
p.  266  of  Woodbury  Lowery:  ^^  Spanish  Settlements 
within  the  limits  of  the  United  States;  Florida,  1562- 
1574.^^ 

The  story  of  the  attempt  to  establish  the  mission  in 
Florida  as  told  by  Father  Ribadeneyra  is  well  worth 
reprinting.  I  have  had  it  translated  by  a  well-known 
student  of  Spanish  literature  and  give  it  entire. 

The  Entrance  of  the  Company  into  the  West  Indies, 
AND  the  Death  of  Nine  of  them  in  Florida 

Chapter  VI 

When  Father  Francisco  was  first  General  (of  the  Company) 
none  of  the  Company  had  entered  the  West  Indies,  (which 
were)  subject  to  the  crown  of  Castile.  They  had  only  sent 
forth  and  scattered  our  men  through  the  East  Indies,  and 
arrived  at  the  gates  of  China,  and  founded  houses  and  churches 
in  Japan,  with  the  result  that  is  known.  There  were  many  in 
the  Company  to  whom  our  Lord  had  given  an  ardent  desire  to 
die  for  him,  and  a  particular  aptitude  to  labor  in  (fol.  140a) 
the  West  Indies,  in  the  same  manner  in  which  their  other 
companions  and  brethren  labored  in  the  East  Indies.    And 


they  implored  our  Lord  that  he  might  open  the  gates  for  them 
and  fulfil  in  them  his  desires.  And  the  charity  and  zeal  for  the 
glory  of  God  our  Lord,  with  which  Father  Francisco  was 
burning,  was  so  great  that  he  had,  even  before  he  became 
General,  offered  up  many  prayers,  sacrifices  and  penances  for 
this  purpose.  The  Lord  heard  them  and  waited  (for  the  most 
.opportune  time)  until  the  Father  was  appointed  General,  in 
order  that  by  his  hand  and  to  his  contentment  he  might  send, 
for  this  enterprise,  the  fathers  and  brethren  who  should  seem 
best  to  him.  Almost  at  the  same  time  or  a  Uttle  later,  which 
was  on  May  3,  1566,  he  induced  the  Catholic  King  don  Felipe 
to  write  a  letter,  in  which,  among  other  things,  he  said:  on 
account  of  the  good  reports  which  we  have  of  persons  in  the 
Company,  and  of  the  good  they  have  done  and  are  doing  in 
these  Kingdoms,  I  have  desired  that  an  order  be  given  that 
some  of  the  Company  be  sent  to  our  Indies  of  the  Atlantic 
Ocean.  And  in  order  that  the  necessity  for  such  persons  shall 
constantly  be  increased  and  that  our  Lord  may  be  served  by 
the  said  father's  going  to  those  parts,  on  account  of  the 
Christianity  and  kindness  they  have  and  because  they  are 
persons  fit  for  the  conversion  of  those  natives,  and  on  account 
of  the  devotion  I  have  to  the  said  company  (fol.  141)  I  desire 
that  some  of  them  go  to  those  regions.  I  therefore  beg  you  and 
charge  you  to  appoint  and  command  24  persons  of  the  Com- 
pany to  go  to  our  said  Indies  to  wherever  our  Council  shall 
indicate  to  them.  That  they  shall  be  learned  persons  of  good 
life  and  example  and  such  as  you  may  judge  fitting  for  such  an 
undertaking.  For  besides  the  service  which  you  will  do  to  the 
Lord  in  this  matter,  I  shall  receive  great  satisfaction  and  I 
shall  command  that  they  be  provided  with  everything  neces- 
sary. In  addition,  that  country  to  which  they  may  go  will 
receive  great  happiness  and  benefit  through  their  arrival. 

In  fulfilknent  of  what  the  King  commanded,  father  Fran- 
cisco chose  some  fathers  of  the  Company  for  this  mission.  The 
first  were  the  fathers  Maestro  Pedro  Martinez  (who  was  an 
Aragonese  from  the  town  of  Teurel)  and  Juan  Rogel,  and  the 
brother  Francisco  de  Villareal,  who  left  in  that  same  year  on 
July  28th  for  Florida,  where  they  arrived  on  September  24th 
of  the  said  year.  And  our  Lord  was  pleased  to  receive  as  the 
first  fruits  of  the  Company  the  first  one  of  the  Company  who 
set  his  foot  on  that  new  world.  For  Father  Martinez  in 
leaping  ashore  in  the  Floridas  in  order  to  preach  and  to  give 
news  of  the  Gospel  to  the  barbarous  natives  who  were  (fol. 
141a)  on  the  sea-shore,  was  beaten  to  the  ground  with  the 
clubs  they  carried,  and  seizing  him,  half  dead,  they  threw  him 
into  the  sea,  our  Lord  thus  giving  him  as  a  reward  for  the 
hardships  he  had  suffered  in  the  Company  in  his  religious  and 


8 

exemplary  life,  so  happy  a  death  and  the  grace  of  dying  for  his 
love.  But  this  frightened  neither  his  companions  nor  the 
others  of  his  Brethren  who  had  remained  in  Europe,  nor  did 
this  death  of  Padre  Martinez  intimidate  them;  on  the  contrary 
it  animated  them  more,  knowing  that  they  were  more  easily 
able  to  attain  in  Florida  what  they  desired,  which  was  to  die 
for  Christ.  And  so  in  the  year  1568  Father  Francisco,  in 
order  to  continue  the  work  they  had  undertaken,  sent  eleven 
of  the  Company,  the  Superior  of  whom  was  Father  Juan 
Baptista  de  Segura;  these  were  to  be  joined  by  father  Rogel  and 
brother  Francisco  or  Villareal,  companions  of  father  Pedro 
Martinez,  who,  after  the  latter's  death,  retired  to  the  port  of 
Habana,  and  had  already  returned  to  Florida,  whither  the 
eleven  fathers  and  brothers  departed  from  Saulucar  on  March 
13,  1568.  There  went  with  them  a  Cacique  or  chief  of  the 
country  of  Florida,  whom  the  Governor  Pedro  Melendez  had 
brought  with  him  from  Florida  to  Spain.  And  having  been 
instructed  in  the  matters  of  our  holy  religion,  (fol.  142)  he 
received  with  great  expressions  of  joy  and  happiness  the 
waters  of  holy  baptism  and  was  called  don  Luys.  For  it  was 
believed  that  because  he  was  familiar  with  that  country  and  a 
high  personage  who  had  many  relations,  that  he  would  be  able 
to  help  our  men  in  the  conversion  of  his  subjects  and  friends, 
as  he  had  promised  to  do. 

Father  Baptista  de  Segura  and  seven  of  his  companions 
having  arrived  in  Florida  (for  the  rest  of  them  remained  in 
Habana),  they  courageously  penetrated  the  country,  guided 
by  don  Luys,  without  permitting  a  single  Spanish  soldier  to 
accompany  them,  altho  many  had  offered  to  do  so.  They 
wore  their  ornaments  (vestments)  and  whatever  was  necessary 
for  saying  mass,  and  some  devotional  books.  They  passed 
through  great  deserts  and  swamps,  of  which  there  are  many  in 
that  country.  Their  provisions  were  soon  exhausted  and  they 
had  to  support  themselves  on  the  herbs  they  found  in  the  fields 
and  on  the  water  they  found  in  the  pools.  They  arrived  in 
the  country  of  don  Luys,  which  was  a  considerable  distance 
from  the  sea  and  from  every  human  shelter,  and  was  inhabited 
by  naked  savages.  Don  Luys  informed  them  that  they  should 
await  him  in  a  half  deserted  village,  and  he  went  to  another, 
where  his  people  were,  five  leagues  further  on.  (fol.  142a)  And 
when  the  fathers  had  waited  six  days  longer  then  had  been 
agreed  upon,  father  Baptista  de  Segura  sent  a  father  and  one 
of  the  brethren  to  learn  why  he  did  not  come  and  whether  he 
wished  that  they  should  come  to  where  he  was.  On  arriving 
(whether  it  be  because  don  Luys  had  apostatized  and  returned 
to  his  idolatries  and  was  confused,  or  because  he  had  already 
planned  and  plotted  the  wickedness),  he  and  his  relatives 


9 

fell  upon  the  padre  and  the  brother  and  killed  them.  And  at 
dawn  of  the  following  day,  with  don  Luys  as  captain  and 
guide,  they  fell  upon  and  killed  the  rest  of  them,  whom  they 
found,  all  six  of  them,  kneeling,  and  awaiting  death  with  joy 
and  devotion.  Then  they  stripped  them  of  their  garments, 
stole  their  ornaments  and  altar  accessories,  put  on  the  clothes 
of  the  dead  and  danced  in  their  intoxication.  Three  of  them 
went  to  open  a  little  chest  of  the  fathers,  thinking  to  find  some 
valuables  in  it.  But  they  found  in  it  a  book  of  the  holy  Scrip- 
ture, a  missal,  and  devotional  books,  rosaries,  images,  hair 
cloth,  discipUnes  and  a  sacred  crucifix,  which  they  looked  upon 
very  intently,  and  as  they  looked,  they  fell  suddenly  dead. 
Those  of  their  companions,  who  were  present,  were  so  wonder 
struck  (fol.  143)  and  amazed  at  what  they  saw,  that  without 
touching  a  thing  they  each  went  their  way.  All  this  was 
seen  and  noted  by  a  Spanish  boy,  whom  the  father's  had  with 
them,  and  whose  life  was  spared  because  he  was  a  boy  and 
because  they  knew  that  he  could  not  preach  to  them.  He 
remained  a  captive  among  them  for  several  years  until  the 
Lord  freed  him  from  such  a  barbarous,  fierce  nation,  and  he 
related  what  we  have  just  told. 

Those  who  died  there  for  the  propagation  of  our  holy  faith 
were:  father  Baptista  de  Segura,  a  native  of  Toledo  (who, 
because  of  his  virtues  and  his  religious  life  had  been  much 
loved  in  Spain  by  father  Francisco);  father  Luys  de  Quiros, 
and  the  brethren  Gabriel  Gomez,  Cauallos,  Juan  Baptista 
Mendez,  Pedro  de  Linares,  Christoual  Redondo,  and  Gabriel 
de  Solis.  I  have  set  down  their  names  here  in  order  that  the 
memory  of  these  fortunate  clerics  may  be  preserved,  who  in 
their  zeal  for  souls  shed  their  blood  with  such  constancy  and 
joy. 

And  for  the  same  reason  I  here  wish  to  mention  father 
Francisco  Lopez,  who,  in  the  previous  year,  1567,  in  going  from 
the  College  of  Cochin  to  Goa  with  three  companions,  fell  into 
the  hands  of  the  moors,  (fol.  143a)  He  was  known  to  them  on 
account  of  the  tonsure  he  wore,  and  was  importuned  by  them 
to  forsake  the  faith  of  Jesus  Christ.  But  as,  with  great 
confidence  and  fortitude  he  persevered  in  the  love  and  confes- 
sion of  his  Lord  and  offered  himself  to  every  kind  of  torment 
and  death  for  it,  the  barbarians  pierced  his  side  with  a  lance 
and  decapitated  him;  and  so  he  passed  from  this  brief  and 
miserable  life  to  the  reward  of  eternal  happiness.  Of  his  three 
companions,  one  was  captured  by  the  Moors;  the  other  two 
disappeared. 

This  was  in  the  year  1567,  in  which  father  Francisco  sent 
fathers  Pedro  Domenech,  and  Geronymo  Mur  to  Oran  to 
assist  Pedro  Luys  de  Borja,  his  brother.  Master  of  the  Knights 


10 

of  Montesa  (who  was  Governor  and  Captain  General  of  that 
city  for  King  Philip,  and  who  is  now  Viceroy  and  Captain 
General  of  Cataluna),  and  to  help  the  soldiers  and  men  in  his 
charge  in  their  spiritual  affairs  and  matters  appertaining  to  our 
ministry,  as  they  did  for  some  years  while  they  were  there,  to 
the  advantage  of  both  soldiers  and  people.     (Fol.  144) 

Our  Men  go  to  Peru  and  to  New  Spain 
Chapter  VII 

In  this  year,  1567,  King  Philip  wrote  another  letter  to 
father  Francisco,  in  which  he  said:  On  account  of  the  need 
there  is  in  the  province  of  Peru  for  clerics  to  attend  to  the 
conversion  and  instruction  of  the  natives  and  on  account  of  the 
devotion  which  his  majesty  has  for  the  Company,  he  begs  and 
charges  him  that  he  order  twenty  monks  of  the  Company  to 
go  to  Peru.  They  are  to  occupy  themselves  in  the  conversion 
and  instruction  of  the  Indians,  and  are  to  build  houses  and 
colleges,  for  he  will  command  that  they  be  supplied  with  every- 
thing necessary  for  their  journey.  In  fulfilment  of  this,  in 
the  same  year  1567,  there  departed  from  the  port  of  San  Lucar 
on  November  2,  fathers  Geronimo  de  Portillo  (who  goes  as 
Provincial),  father  Antonio  Alvarez  (who  died  in  Panama), 
father  Maestro  Luys  Lopez,  and  father  Miguel  de  Fuentes, 
beside  the  brothers  Diego  de  Bracamonte,  Juan  Garcia  de 
Yanguas,  Francisco  de  Medina  and  Pedro  Lobet.  These  were 
the  first  of  the  Company  to  enter  Peru,  and  they  built  houses, 
founded  colleges  and  opened  schools,  in  which  were  taught 
and  are  taught  today  the  sciences  and  faculties  which  the 
Company  is  wont  to  teach  to  the  great  benefit  of  the  youth  and 
of  the  Spaniards  who  reside  in  that  very  extensive  Kingdom, 
and  of  the  Indians  themselves,  who  are  converted  to  our  holy 
faith  through  the  teaching  of  the  fathers. 

So  much  was  the  Lord  our  God  pleased  with  the  going  of 
these  fathers  and  brethren  of  ours  to  Peru,  and  so  favorable 
the  beginnings  of  their  preaching,  that  the  Catholic  King, 
don  Felipe,  was  induced  to  ask  the  Company  to  send  more 
people.  And  so  on  March  19,  1659,  there  left  with  don 
Francisco  or  Toledo  (who  went  as  Viceroy  to  Peru),  the 
fathers  Bartolome  Hernandez,  Juan  Garcia,  the 'Maestro 
Barzana,  Hernan  Sanchez,  Rodrigo  Alvarez,  and  the  brothers 
Sebastian  Amador,  Juan  de  Zuiiiga,  Juan  Gomez,  Antonio 
Martinez,  Juan  de  Casasola,  Diego  Ortun,  Diego  Martinez 
(of  whom  father  Juan  Garcia  died  in  Panama),  and  afterwards 
in  the  year  1571,  on  June  8,  there  left  for  the  same  province  of 
Peru,  fathers  Joseph  de  Acosta  and  Andres  Lopez  and  brother 


11 

Diego  Martinez.  On  June  23,  1572  at  the  same  instance  and 
command  of  his  Majesty  there  left  for  New  Spain  fourteen 
fathers  (fol.  145)  and  brethren,  who  were  the  first  of  the 
Company  who  entered  into  that  province.  They  took  with 
them,  as  their  Provincial,  father  Doctor  Pedro  Sanchez  (who, 
having  been  Rector  of  the  University  of  Alcald,  and  holding  a 
chair  therein,  had  entered  the  Company  some  years  before), 
and  with  him  were  the  fathers  Diego  Lopez,  Diego  de  Fonseca, 
Pedro  Diaz,  Concha,  Baca,  Camargo,  and  the  brethren  Juan 
Sanchez,  Mercado,  Curiel,  Matilla,  Bartolome  Larios,  Lope 
Nauarro,  Martin  Goncalez ;  whom  I  have  wished  to  name  with 
the  rest  in  this  chapter  in  order  that  there  may  remain  a 
memorial  of  the  first  of  the  Company  who  went  to  enlighten, 
with  the  light  of  the  holy  gospel,  the  souls  of  the  dwellers  in 
this  new  world,  who  were  captives  under  the  tyranny  of  Satan. 
These  fathers  and  brethren  having  reached  New  Spain,  settled 
in  the  city  of  Mexico,  the  chief  city  of  that  Kingdom,  and 
afterwards  were  spread  and  scattered  in  other  cities  and 
provinces,  to  the  great  edification  and  benefit  of  the  natives 
and  of  the  Spainards  who  reside  in  it,  the  number  of  our  people 
being  increased  every  year  by  those  who  were  sent  thither. 

How  the  divine  goodness  has  been  served  by  the  agency  of 
the  members  of  the  Company  in  the  Western  Indies  of  Peru 
and  of  New  Spain  (fol.  145a)  by  helping  the  other  clerics  in 
the  conversion  of  the  heathen,  and  in  the  education  of  those 
already  converted, and  by  the  reformation  of  the  customs  of  the 
Spanish  colonists,  and  by  the  teaching  of  youth  and  by  all  the 
other  works  of  charity,  (all  this)  I  do  not  wish  to  mention  here, 
because  it  is  so  well  known,  and  because  it  is  too  long  for  a 
brief  narrative.  This  was  the  beginning  and  the  first  entry 
of  the  Company  into  the  Kingdom  of  Peru  and  of  New  Spain, 
subject  to  the  crown  of  Castile;  which  (Kingdoms)  were 
closed  for  its  sons  (i.  e.  sons  of  the  company),  until  the  Lord 
through  the  prayers  of  father  Francisco,  who  was  then  Presi- 
dent General,  opened  them,  as  we  have  just  related.  But  here, 
in  Europe,  the  Company  also  extended  its  activities  and 
foimded  colleges  in  various  provinces  as  will  be  seen  in  the 
following  chapters. 

The  Death  Which  The  Heretics  Gave  to  Thirty-nine  of 
The  Company  Who  Were  Going  to  Brazil 

Chapter  X 

Not  only  did  our  Lord  God  increase  the  Company  that  we 
have  on  earth  by  increasing  the  number  of  colleges  and 
founding  new  houses  in  various  Provinces  (as  we  have  seen), 


12 

but  he  cherished  and  favored  it  much  more  by  peopling 
Heaven  with  its  sons  and  by  enriching  and  augmenting  the 
Company  of  those  who  already  enjoy  the  rewards  of  their 
victories,  giving  to  their  brethren  new  victories  and  crowns, 
as  he  did  in  the  year  1570,  by  a  notable  event  which  I  wish  to 
relate  here.  Because  it  is  not  just  that  we  pass  in  silence  an 
inestimable  benefit  which  the  Company  received  from  the 
hands  of  the  Lord,  by  means  of  certain  French  heretics,  who, 
in  hatred  of  our  holy  Catholic  faith,  killed  fifty-one  of  its  sons, 
father  Francisco  being  then  President  General.  For  one  of 
the  greatest  fruits  that  the  Company  has  reaped  from  the 
labor  and  industry  of  our  people  (who  go  among  the  heathen 
and  heretics,  enlightening  them  and  converting  them  to  our 
holy  faith) ,  has  been  that  many  of  them  have  shed  their  blood 
for  the  very  faith  which  they  were  preaching,  and  that  they 
have  confirmed  (fol.  152)  the  truth  of  their  doctrine  by  their 
deaths.  This  has  happened  in  many  places  and  at  different 
times.  Among  them  is  the  one  I  here  relate.  Father  Francis- 
co sent  father  Ignacio  de  Azeuedo,  a  Portuguese  of  the  city  of 
Puerto  (a  man  no  less  illustrious  in  holiness  than  in  blood)  to 
the  province  of  Brazil  to  visit  and  console  those  of  the  Com- 
pany who  were  there,  and  to  note  what  their  needs  are  to  carry 
on  the  enterprise  that  had  been  begun,  and  to  convert  that 
barbarous  people  to  our  holy  Religion.  The  father  went 
thither  and  performed  his  duty  well;  then  went  to  Rome  to 
report  to  the  General  what  he  had  done,  and  the  extreme  need 
there  was  in  Brazil  of  persons  to  cultivate  that  deserted  vine- 
yard, since  for  lack  of  workers,  many  souls  were  being  lost. 
It  seemed  (fitting)  to  father  Francisco  to  send  father  Ignacio 
de  Azevedo  again  as  Provincial  to  Brazil,  with  a  goodly  number 
of  fathers  and  brethren  to  help  him  in  that  spiritual  conquest. 
And  he  commissioned  him  to  take  with  him  from  the 
provinces  of  Spain  some  who  were  desirous  and  inclined  for 
that  opportunity;  and  that  he  should  receive  others  into  the 
Company  who  may  request  it,  if  they  should  have  a  desire  to 
accompany  him  and  offer  their  lives  to  the  Lord  for  the  benefit 
and  conversion  of  the  Brazils,  for  there  were  not  so  many 
qualified  clerics  who  could  go  to  Brazil  without  leaving  other 
enterprises  of  much  service  to  our  Lord,  upon  which  they  were 
now  engaged.  Likewise  it  was  fitting  that  some  of  those  who 
are  to  go  should  be  young,  in  order  to  accustom  themselves 
the  more  readily  to  the  climate  and  to  the  living  in  the  new 
country,  and  to  learn  the  language  of  the  natives.  The  Pro- 
vincial Azevedo  brought  together  sixty-nine  of  the  Company, 
in  compliance  with  the  order  that  he  had  received.  He 
distributed  them  in  three  vessels:  in  one,  called  the  Santiago, 
he  took  with  him  forty-four;  in  another  went  others,  and  as 


13 

their  Superior,  father  Pedro  Diaz,  in  another  went  the  rest. 
They  left  Lisbon  on  June  5,  with  Don  Luys  de  Vasconcelos,  a 
vaUant  Christian  Knight,  who  with  the  three  vessels  and  four 
others  went  as  Governor  of  Brazil,  and  well  pleased  he  was  to 
have  in  his  company  so  many  and  such  clerics.  They  went  on 
their  voyage  with  as  much  good  fellowship  as  if  each  one  of 
the  vessels  were  a  college  of  the  Company.  They  had  their 
appointed  hours  of  prayer,  of  examination  of  conscience,  of 
reading  at  table,  prayed  each  day  their  htanies  and  the  Salve 
Regina  to  our  Lady;  instructed  the  sailors,  soldiers  and  passen- 
gers in  Christian  Doctrine,  and  preached  to  them,  read  the 
Uves  of  the  Saints  and  gave  them  (fol.  153)  rosaries,  images, 
beads  that  had  been  blessed,  devout  and  profitable  books 
instead  of  those  that  were  not  so,  and  which  they  took  from 
them  with  kindly  words.  With  this  harmony  and  concord  all 
the  vessels  reached  the  Island  of  Madeira,  where  it  was 
necessary  that  the  Santiago,  which  bore  father  Ignacio  de 
Azevedo  and  his  companions,  had  to  separate  from  the  rest, 
and  went  alone  to  the  island  of  La  Palma,  one  of  the  Canaries. 
Being  obhged  to  leave,  father  Ignacio  called  all  his  companions 
and  told  them  he  believed  that  on  that  voyage  there  would  not 
be  lacking  heretical  corsairs  who  would  pursue  them,  and  for 
all  that  might  happen  it  was  fitting  that  all  should  be  well 
prepared  and  resolved  to  die  for  Christ.  And  if,  by  chance, 
there  should  be  anyone  among  them  who  should  not  have  this 
spirit  and  courage,  and  should  wish  to  remain  with  the  other 
vessels,  that  he  would  be  pleased  that  he  do  so.  Among  all 
the  forty-four  whom  he  brought,  there  were  only  four  (who 
were  novices  and  afterwards  went  out  of  the  Company)  who 
showed  any  weakness,  and  plainly  said  that  as  men  they 
feared  that  danger  which  the  father  had  placed  before  them, 
and  begged  him  that  he  leave  them  on  the  island  of  Madeira, 
and  so  they  remained.  The  rest  of  them  offered  themselves 
to  any  hardship  and  danger,  and  followed  their  Provincial; 
and  they  (fol.  153a)  and  the  rest  who  went  in  the  vessel, 
confessed  themselves  at  the  advice  of  the  father  before  sailing 
from  the  port,  and  received  the  body  of  Christ  our  Lord  on  the 
eve  of  the  apostles  Saint  Peter  and  Saint  Paul.  The  father 
distributed  among  them  some  Agnus  Dei  and  some  holy 
articles  that  he  had  brought  from  Rome.  All  prepared  them- 
selves and  armed  themselves  for  any  danger  of  death. 

Those  who  went  with  father  Ignacio  de  Azevedo,  took  leave 
of  the  others,  their  brethren  who  remained  with  father  Pedro 
Diaz  and  in  the  other  vessel,  with  extraordinary  tenderness 
and  an  abundance  of  tears,  Uke  those  who  devined  that  they 
were  never  to  see  each  other  again  till  the  other  life.  And  sailing 
around  the  Canaries  their  familiar  conversations  were  about 


14 

martyrdom,  and  speaking  among  themselves,  said:  0  if  it 
should  only  please  God  our  Lord  that  upon  this  sea,  we  should 
meet  with  someone  who,  for  the  cause  of  the  Catholic  faith 
would  take  our  lives!  What  a  happy  fate  and  what  a  joyous 
day  it  would  be  for  us,  and  of  how  many  and  how  cruel  enemies 
we  should  free  ourselves  with  this  one  enemy  of  our  bodies! 
While  engaged  in  these  conversations,  finding  themselves  very 
near  the  port  of  La  Palma,  they  saw  bearing  down  upon  them 
five  French  vessels,  in  which  was  Jaques  Soria,  a  famous 
corsair,  and  subject  of  the  Queen  of  Navarre;  he  and  his  (fol. 
154)  Queen  professed  heresy  and  were  capital  enemies  of  the 
Catholics.  He  came  in  a  large,  powerful  galleon  with  much 
artillery  and  many  men.  Father  Ignacio,  when  he  saw  the 
danger,  knew  that  this  was  what  his  heart  had  previously  told 
him  and  what  the  Lord  had  given  him  to  understand.  And 
after  encouraging  his  people  to  fight  and  die  for  the  faith, 
showing  them  that  they  could  not  fail  to  gain  the  victory, 
either  conquering  their  enemies  or  dying  at  the  hands  of  the 
heretics  for  Jesus  Christ,  he  drew  forth  a  portrait  of  our  Lady, 
painted  by  Saint  Lucas,  which  he  had  brought  from  Rome, 
and  turning  to  his  companions  who  were  singing  the  Litany, 
and  with  copious  tears  asking  the  Lord  for  mercy  and  for 
forgiveness  of  their  sins,  and  with  cheerful  mien  and  courageous 
heart,  said  to  them:  Up,  my  dear  brethren!  My  heart 
tells  me  that  on  this  day,  just  as  we  are,  we  are  all  to  go  to 
dwell  in  Heaven  with  Jesus  Christ,  our  Redeemer,  and  with 
the  glorious  Virgin  Mary,  his  mother  and  all  that  blessed 
company.  Do  you  not  see  how  greatly  we  are  favored,  for 
instead  of  Brazil  we  are  making  port  in  Heaven?  Let  us 
pray,  brethren,  and  bear  in  mind  that  this  is  the  last  hour  that 
God  gives  us,  to  deserve  and  prepare  ourselves  to  die  for  love 
of  him.  (fol.  154a)  All  raised  their  hands,  and  with  eyes 
filled  with  tears  raised  to  heaven,  said  in  a  loud  voice:  ''Let 
it  be  so.  Lord:  may  thy  holy  will  be  fulfilled  in  us,  for  we  are 
all  here  ready  to  give  our  blood  for  you."  To  be  brief,  the 
heretics  came  and  grappled  with  the  Santiago  and  although 
there  was  some  resistance  and  there  were  some  deaths  among 
the  enemy,  they  boarded  the  ship  and  overpowered  it.  And 
when  Jaques  Soria  learned  that  there  were  fathers  of  the 
Company  of  Jesus  on  board,  he  commanded  that  they  be 
all  killed,  without  sparing  anyone,  saying  in  a  loud  voice: 
"Kill,  Kill  the  Papists  who  are  going  to  sow  false  doctrine  in 
Brazil."  And  though  he  had  spared  the  lives  of  two  secular 
clerks  and  other  fathers  of  Saint  Francis  who  had  fallen  into 
his  hands  a  few  days  before,  so  great  was  the  hatred  and  rage 
he  had  against  the  Jesuits  (for  so  he  called  the  members  of  the 
Company),  that  he  did  not  wish  to  pardon  any,  although  many 


15 

of  them  were  young  and  novices.  After  the  vessel  had  been 
captured  Jacques  himself  approached  with  his  galleon  and 
cried:  ''Throw  these  dogs  of  Jesuits,  these  papists  and 
enemies  of  ours  into  the  sea."  As  soon  as  they  heard  this 
command  of  their  captain,  his  heretical  soldiers,  (Calvinists, 
like  himself)  grappled  with  our  men,  and  stripping  them  of 
their  poor  cassocks,  and  giving  them  many  wounds,  especially 
to  those  (fol.  155)  who  were  priests  and  wore  the  tonsure,  and 
cutting  off  the  arms  of  some  of  them,  threw  them  into  the  sea. 
But  because  father  Ignacio  de  Azevedo  like  a  valiant  soldier 
of  God  and  a  priest  and  Captain  of  the  others,  was  encouraging 
them  with  the  image  of  our  Lady  in  his  hands  and  saying: 
"Let  us  die  cheerfully,  brethren,  for  the  service  of  God  and  for 
the  confession  of  his  faith  which  these,  his  enemies,  impugn," 
one  of  the  heretics  slashed  his  holy  head  so  fiercely  that  it  was 
cleft  open  to  the  brain.  And  the  valiant  priest  without 
withdrawing  nor  moving  from  the  spot  awaited  the  blow;  and 
there  they  gave  him  three  lance  thrusts,  so  that  he  fell,  saying 
in  a  loud  voice:  ''May  men  and  angels  be  my  witness  that  I 
die  in  defence  of  the  holy  Roman  Church  and  all  that  it 
confesses  and  teaches."  And  turning  to  his  companions  and 
embracing  them  with  singular  charity  and  cheerfulness,  he 
said:  "Children  of  my  heart,  have  no  fear  of  death;  be 
grateful  for  the  mercy  which  God  shows  you  in  giving  you  the 
fortitude  to  die  for  Him, and  since  we  have  so  faithful  a  witness, 
and  so  liberal  a  remunerator,  let  us  not  be  faint-hearted  nor 
weak  to  fight  the  battles  of  the  Lord. "  And  having  said  these 
words,  he  expired.  The  heretics  attempted  to  wrest  from  his 
hands  the  image  of  our  Lady,  but  were  unable  to  do  so. 
Brother  Benito  de  Castro,  who,  bearing  a  crucifix  in  his  hand 
and  showing  it,  said :  "  I  am  a  Catholic  and  son  of  the  Roman 
Church,"  him  they  pierced  with  three  shots  of  an  arquebus. 
And  seeing  that  he  was  still  upright  and  continuing  in  his 
confession,  they  gave  him  many  sword-thrusts,  and  before  he 
expired,  they  cast  him  into  the  sea.  Another  brother,  named 
Manuel  Alvarez,  who  was  burning  with  living  flames  for  the 
love  of  Gd  and  desired  to  die  for  him,  and  who  rebuked  the 
heretics  for  their  blindness,  him  they  wounded  in  the  face,  and 
being  stretched  on  the  ground,  they  broke  his  legs  and  arms. 
They  did  not  kill  him,  in  order  that  he  might  suffer  greater 
pain,  and  he,  turning  his  peaceful  eyes  upon  his  brethren,  said: 
"Envy  me,  I  beg  you,  brethren,  and  do  not  pity  me,  for  I 
confess  that  I  never  deserved  of  God  so  much  good  as  he  does 
me  in  these  torments  and  this  death.  Fifteen  years  I  have 
been  in  the  Company,  and  for  ten  years  I  have  wished  and 
prepared  myself  for  this  voyage  to  Brazil  and  with  this  happy 
death  I   consider  myself  well  rewarded   by  God  and  the 


16 

Company  for  all  my  services."  And  breathing  his  last  breath, 
they  cast  him  into  the  sea.  And  because  they  found  two 
brethren  kneeling  in  prayer  before  the  images  which  they 
(the  heretics)  so  hated,  they  attacked  them  with  diabolical 
rage  and  fury,  breaking  the  skull  of  (fol.  156)  one  of  them  with 
the  pommel  of  a  sword,  and  scattering  his  brains,  so  that  he 
fell  dead.  This  brother's  name  was  Bias  Ribero.  The  other 
brother,  who  was  named  Diego  de  Fonseca,  received  such  a 
dagger-thrust  in  the  mouth  that  it  severed  his  tongue,  and 
crushed  his  jaw-bone.  And  father  Diego  de  Andrada  (who, 
father  Azevedo  being  dead,  was  the  chief  and  head  of  the  rest), 
because  they  saw  that  he  was  a  priest  and  had  confessed  some 
of  his  companions,  and  was  encouraging  them,  saying:  " Pre- 
pare your  souls,  my  brethren,  for  your  redemption  is  close  at 
hand, "  him,  after  giving  him  many  stabs,  they  cast,  still  living, 
into  the  sea.  While  this  was  happening  two  of  the  brethren 
named  Gregorio  Escrivano  and  Alvaro  Mendez  were  sick  in 
their  beds,  and  though  they  might  have  concealed  their  fear 
and  remained  quiet,  yet  with  the  desire  they  had  of  dying  for 
Christ,  they  arose  as  best  they  could  and  putting  on  their 
cassocks,  with  bare  feet  and  half  naked,  they  joined  their 
brethren,  that  they  might  not  lose  so  good  an  opportunity, 
and  so  they  died  with  them.  The  heretics  had  carried  another 
brother  named  Simon  de  Acosta  to  the  galleon  of  Jaques, 
thinking  that  he  was  the  son  of  some  gentleman  or  titled 
personage,  for  he  had  thife  appearance  and  was  only  18  years 
old,  and  of  good  manners.  Jaques  called  him  aside  and  asked 
him  whether  he  also  (fol.  156a)  belonged  to  the  Jesuit  priests. 
And  though  by  denying  it  he  could  have  escaped  with  his  life, 
he  would  not,  but  rather  confessed  that  he  was  a  companion  in 
religion  and  a  brother  of  those  who  died  for  the  Catholic, 
ApostoUc  and  Roman  faith.  This  so  enraged  Jaques  that  he 
had  him  beheaded  and  cast  into  the  sea.  In  this  manner  the 
heretics,  on  account  of  their  hatred  and  abhorrence  of  our  holy 
religion,  killed  thirty-nine  fathers  and  brethren  of  our  Com- 
pany. It  is  not  right  that  we  should  keep  silent  as  to  their 
names,  for  they  are  written  in  the  book  of  life.  They  were: 
the  Provincial  Ignacio  de  Azevedo,  Diego  de  Andrada,  Antonio 
Suarez,  Benito  de  Castro,  Juan  Fernandez  de  Lisboa, 
Francisco  Alvarez  Covillo,  Domingo  Hernandez,  Manuel 
Alvarez,  Juan  de  Mayorga,  Aragonese;  Alonso  de  Valera,  of 
the  Kingdom  of  Toledo,  Gonzalo  Enriquez  Diacono,  Juan 
Fernandez  de  Braga,  Alexo  Delgado,  Luis  Correa  of  Evora, 
Manuel  Rodriguez  de  Halconete,  Simon  Lopez,  Manuel 
Hernandez,  Alvaro  Mendez,  Pedro  Munoz,  Francisco  Magal- 
lanes,  Nicolas  Diney  de  Verganza,  Caspar  Alvarez,  Bias 
Ribero    de    Braga,    Antonio    Hernandez    de    Montemayor, 


17 

Manuel  Pacheco,  Pedro  de  Fontaura,  Simon  de  Acosta, 
Andrez  Gonzalez  (fol.  157)  de  Viana,  Amaro  Vaz,  Diego  Perez 
de  Mizca,  Juan  de  Baeza,  Marcos  Caldera,  Antonio  Correa  del 
Puerto,  Hernan  Sanchez  of  the  province  of  Castile,  Gregorio 
Escrivano  of  Logrono,  Francisco  Perez  Godoy  of  Torrijos, 
Juan  de  Zafra  of  Toledo,  Juan  de  San  Martin,  native  of  lUescas 
and  Estevan  Zurayre  Vizcaino.  The  latter  was  a  very  artless 
man,  and  when  he  left  Plasencia  for  this  voyage  he  said  to 
father  Joseph  de  Acosta,  who  was  his  confessor,  that  he  was 
going  cheerfully  to  Brazil,  because  he  was  certain  that  he  was 
to  die  a  martyr.  And  being  asked  how  he  knew  it,  he  replied 
that  God  had  revealed  it  to  him.  So  that  of  forty  of  the 
Company  who  were  in  that  vessel,  one  man  alone,  Juan  Sanchez 
escaped  death,  and  it  was  in  this  manner.  When  the  heretics 
separated  the  men,  putting  on  one  side  those  who  were  to  be 
killed  and  on  the  other  those  who  were  to  be  spared,  they 
examined  their  hands  and  garments.  And  when  they  saw 
that  the  brother  was  young,  that  his  hands  were  dirty  and 
callous  and  that  he  wore  a  short  beggarly  jacket,  they  asked 
him  whether  he  was  the  cook,  he  answered  yes,  which  was  the 
truth.  They  therefore  kept  him  to  make  use  of  him  in  the 
kitchen  (fol.  157a)  and  he  remained  with  them  until  they 
returned  to  France,  where  our  Lord  freed  him  of  their  control, 
that  he  might  be  a  witness  and  relate  to  us  what  we  have  here 
told  of  the  death  of  his  companions,  although  not  he  alone, 
but  many  others  were  present  and  afterwards  gave  an  account 
of  all  that  had  happened.  But  in  order  that  the  number 
should  be  exact,  and  that  there  should  be  forty  crowns  for  the 
forty  of  the  company  who  had  entered  into  the  vessel  with  the 
purpose  of  dying  for  Jesus  Christ,  in  place  of  this  brother  Juan 
Sanchez,  who  escaped,  the  Lord  gave  us  another  who  was 
called  San  Juan,  a  virtuous  and  upright  youth,  and  nephew  of 
the  Ship's  captain.  He  took  such  a  liking  to  the  brethren  of 
the  Company,  that  he  asked  to  be  admitted  to  it.  And 
although  father  Ignacio  did  not  receive  him,  he  never  left  his 
side,  nor  did  he  cease  to  take  part  in  the  prayers  and  penance 
of  the  brethren,  and  he  considered  himself  as  one  of  them, 
and  as  such  was  treated.  At  the  time  when  the  heretics 
separated  those  of  the  company  from  the  secular  persons,  he 
passed  over  to  their  side  (i.  e.  of  the  fathers),  and  without  a 
word  allowed  himself  to  be  lead  to  death,  in  order,  by  this 
means,  to  enter  into  the  Company  of  the  blessed  in  Heaven. 
So  that  if  we  count  San  Juan  as  one  of  the  Company,  there 
were  forty  (fol.  158)  who  died.  And  if  we  do  not  consider 
him  as  such  (for  he  had  not  yet  been  admitted)  there  were 
thirty-nine.  All  the  rest  of  them  the  heretics  spared.  For 
they  were  all  corsairs  and  heretics;  in  so  far  as  they  were 


18 

corsairs  they  wished  to  rob  and  not  kill;  and  in  so  far  as  they 
were  heretics,  to  kill  and  rob  those  who  made  any  resistance. 
With  these  they  wage  a  war  with  fire  and  swords  (as  they  say) 
and  proclaim  that,  because  of  them,  their  false  gospel  no 
longer  prevails  and  rules  in  the  world. 

Concerning  Twelve  Others  of  the  Company  Who 
Likewise  Died  at  The  Hands  of  The  Heretics 

Chapter  XI 

We  must  not  forget  the  other  fathers  and  brethren  whom  we 
left  on  the  Island  of  Madeira  with  father  Pedro  Diaz,  for  they 
are  no  less  worthy  of  memory  than  those  who  are  already  gone. 
But  passing  over  in  silence  the  hardships  which  they  and  those 
in  the  other  vessel  suffered  in  their  voyage  (which  was  long 
and  dangerous),  let  us  mention  only  what  is  to  our  purpose. 
After  having  been  fifteen  months  at  sea,  and  on  the  Islands  of 
Barlovento,  San  Domingo  and  Cuba,  with  frightful  storms 
and  (fol.  158a)  many  dangers,  and  arriving  at  the  Island  of 
Terceiva,  fourteen  of  the  Company  with  father  Diaz  were 
taken  on  the  leading  ship  of  the  Governor,  don  Luys  de 
Vasconcelos.  The  latter  was  obliged  to  leave  the  other  ships 
he  had,  on  account  of  the  many  men  who  had  left  him  and 
others  who  had  died,  and  with  those  who  were  left  manned  one 
vessel,  with  which  he  sailed,  on  Sept.  6,  1571,  from  the  Island 
of  Terceira  for  Brazil.  After  sailing  with  prosperous  winds 
for  eight  days,  they  suddenly  discovered  five  vessels,  four 
French  (commanded  by  Juan  Cadavillo,  a  Frenchman  and 
great  heretic,  and  as  cruel  an  enemy  of  the  Catholics  as 
Jaques  Soria)  and  one  English,  and  all  of  them  heretical 
corsairs  and  capital  enemies  of  our  holy  religion.  Don  Luys 
at  once  recognized  his  danger  and  exhorted  his  men  to  fight 
valiantly  for  their  faith  and  their  lives.  Those  of  the  Com- 
pany he  admonished  with  earnestness  to  make  their  peace  with 
God  if  they  wished  to  fight  well  and  hoped  to  be  favored. 
The  Governor  confessed  first,  and  after  him  the  soldiers  and 
the  others,  and  there  was  time  to  do  it,  for  night  had  inter- 
vened a  short  time  after  our  ship  discovered  those  of  the  enemy. 
But  in  the  morning,  at  dawn  (fol.  159)  the  heretical  corsairs 
fell  upon  them,  and  though  they  met  with  great  resistance  and 
lost  many  men,  they  boarded  the  vessel  and  overcame  it. 
In  the  battle,  which  was  very  bitterly  contested,  they  first 
killed  the  Governor,  who,  fighting  valiantly,  fell  pierced  by 
two  shots,  and  received  many  other  wounds,  and,  without 
being  recognized  by  his  enemies,  was  stripped  and  cast  into  the 


19 

sea.  The  Captain  having  been  killed,  the  enemies  overcame 
the  ship  and  took  possession  of  it,  and  entering  with  great  fury 
into  a  little  cabin  where  father  Castro  was  hearing  the  penance 
of  the  master  of  the  vessel,  who  was  severely  wounded  and 
about  to  die.  On  seeing  him  (father  Castro)  they  recognized 
that  he  was  a  Catholic  priest  and  that  he  was  adminstering 
the  sacrement  of  the  confession,  which  they  so  much  hated. 
'They  fell  upon  him  with  great  rage  and  killed  him.  They  did 
the  same  to  father  Pedro  Diaz,  who  up  to  that  time  had  Hke- 
wise  been  confessing,  and  who  had  hastened  up  to  where  father 
Castro  and  brother  Caspar  Goes  were.  As  the  latter  was  a 
youth  of  tender  years  the  father  had  ordered  him  not  to  part 
from  his  side.  The  other  eleven  who  remained  aUve 
encouraged  one  another  to  be  constant  and  to  die  cheerfully 
for  the  Catholic  faith.  The  heretics,  after  (fol.  159a)  striking 
them  with  their  fists,  insulting  and  maltreating  them,  bound 
their  hands  behind  their  backs  and  locked  them  up  in  a 
compartment  and  placed  guards  over  them.  But  because 
brother  Miguel  Aragones,  as  his  hands  were  being  tied, 
uttered  a  groan  of  pain  (for  he  was  badly  wounded  in  the  arm) 
they  threw  him,  and  another  brother  who  was  by  his  side, 
into  the  sea.  The  rest  remained  bound  that  night,  listening 
to  the  greatest  insults  and  reproaches,  and  to  frightful  blas- 
phemies against  God  our  Lord  and  his  Church,  as  they  were 
uttered  by  those  infernal  furies.  Day  having  come,  the  first 
prayer  the  heretics  made  was  to  condemn  to  death  all  Jesuits, 
their  enemies,  for  so  they  call  them  and  for  such  they  hold 
all  members  of  the  Company.  At  first  they  resolved  to  hang 
them  all  to  the  yards  of  the  vessel,  but  afterwards,  thnking 
they  might  get  great  wealth  of  gold  and  silver  from  them, 
(which  they  thought  they  were  bringing  to  Brazil  to  adorn  the 
Churches),  they  gave  up  their  plan,  until,  realizing  that  they 
were  disappointed,  they  attacked  them  with  the  greatest 
barbarity,  insulted  them  and  beat  them  with  clubs,  calling 
them  dogs,  thieves,  Papists  (fol.  160)  and  enemies  of  God. 
Those  of  the  Company  neither  defended  themselves,  nor  did 
they  avoid  death,  but  meek  as  lambs  they  permitted  them- 
selves to  be  cast  into  the  sea.  Five  of  the  fortunate  brethren 
who  knew  how  to  swim,  came  together,  and  being  in  the  water 
encouraged  one  another  to  die,  until  strength  and  breath 
faiUng  them,  they  said:  '^Tibi  soli  peccavi,''  and  three  of 
them  expired.  Of  the  other  two,  one,  named  Diego  Hernandez 
swam  so  long  till  he  reached  one  of  the  smaller  French  vessels 
which  was  lagging  behind,  and  into  which  he  was  taken  up  and 
sheltered  by  the  will  of  the  Lord.  The  other,  who  was  named 
Sebastian  Lopez  remained  in  the  sea  that  night,  which  was 
very  dark  and  much  rain  was  falUng.     But  seeing  a  light  on 


20 

one  oi  the  vessels  about  half  a  league  off,  he  followed  it  till  he 
reached  it,  and  entreated  those  on  the  vessel  to  help  him  and 
take  him  on  board.  But  he  found  only  cruel  words  and 
worse  deeds  (as  those  of  the  heretics  are  wont  to  be)  and  as  a 
last  remedy  he  went  to  one  of  the  barks  or  small  boats,  and 
into  it  he  was  received  by  a  man  who,  although  a  heretic  and 
an  enemy,  was  not  so  cruel  nor  furious  as  the  rest,  in  a  word, 
was  more  human.  The  latter  received  him  and  hid  him  in  a 
corner,  giving  him  (fol.  160a)  something  to  eat  and  some 
clothing.  Twelve  men  died  on  this  ship:  father  Pedro  Diaz, 
father  Francisco  de  Castro,  and  the  following  brethren: 
Alonso  Hernandez,  Caspar  Cois,  Andres  Pays,  Juan  Alvarez, 
another  Pedro  Diaz,  Fernando  Alvarez,  Miguel  Aragones, 
Francisco  Paulo,  Pedro  Hernandez,  Diego  Carvallo,  and  the 
two  who  escaped  by  swimming (  from  whom  and  from  others 
this  story  was  learned)  were  named  Sebastian  Lopez  and 
Diego  Hernandez,  as  we  have  said. 

This  time  the  heretics  were  not  satisfied  with  shedding  the 
innocent  blood  of  so  many  servants  of  Cod  because  they 
defended  and  preached  the  holy  Catholic  faith,  but  they  also 
showed  their  rage  and  fury  against  Cod  himself  and  against 
his  Saints.  For,  having  found  some  relics  and  images  of 
Saints  and  Agnus  Dei  and  consecrated  beads  and  other 
articles  of  devotion  (which  our  men  carried  with  them  for 
their  comfort  and  consolation  and  to  awaken  the  piety  of  the 
faithful  in  Brazil)  the  heretics  showed  their  impiety  and  hatred 
toward  them  by  dragging  them  about,  stamping  upon  them 
and  subjecting  them  to  all  the  contempt  and  insult  that  they 
were  able,  finally  casting  them  into  the  sea.  So  that  by  his 
own  w^orks  we  may  know  who  he  is  who  guides  them  and 
induces  them  to  commit  such  impious,  cruel  and  grievous 
acts.     (fol.  161) 

I  have  dwelt  upon  this  narrative  because  the  martyrdom  of 
these  fifty-one  fathers  and  brethren  of  the  Company  is  such  an 
exemplary  matter  for  all  who  read  it.  And  for  those  of  the 
Company,  especially,  it  is  an  inestimable  benefit  which  we 
have  received  from  the  Lord,  and  a  great  incentive  to  imitate 
those  who  have  gone  before  us,  and  to  seek  new  opportunites 
to  increase  and  extend  throughout  the  world  the  light  of  the 
holy  Cospel  and  to  wrest  from  the  claws  of  Satan  the  souls 
which  Christ  our  Lord  redeemed  with  his  blood,  although  it 
be  at  the  cost  of  our  own  and  with  the  loss  of  all  that  the 
world  promises  and  cannot  fulfil.  But  it  is  now  time  that  we 
again  take  up  the  thread  of  our  story  and  continue  what  we 
have  begun  concerning  the  life  of  father  Francisco.  The 
latter,  when  he  received  the  news  of  the  happy  death  of  those 
his  doughty  warriors  and  blessed  sons,  although  on  the  one 


21 

hand  he  felt  great  sorrow  because  Brazil  had  need  of  them, 
on  the  other  he  rejoiced  much  more  on  seeing  that,  in  his  time, 
the  Lord  deigned  to  accept  this  offering  and  sacrifice  of  blood 
which  the  Company  offered  him.  And  with  great  tenderness 
and  feeling  he  commended  the  dead  and  praised  their  virtues 
and  supphcated  the  Lord  that  he  should  give  grace  to  those 
who  remained. 


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